Southern African Energy Network confronts challenges

Thirty-one delegates, including seven women, from Angola, Botswana, DRC, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe met to discuss challenges that workers face in Sub-Sahara Africa and plan activities for the year ahead. 

The conference, which was supported by the FES organization, addressed issues such as job losses in the sector; organizing and labour laws in Zimbabwe; energy policy research; and energy and energy unions in Angola. Participants also received the SAEN secretariat report and a presentation on international platforms by the director of energy for IndustriALL, Diana Junquera Curiel.

Country reports showed that many unions are engaging in collective bargaining with employers and reaching agreements on wages and conditions. However, the conference  emphasized that the clause on essential services in labour law continues to be a problem for energy workers, making it impossible for them to exercise their right to strike. Nonetheless, NUM in South Africa told how they waged a successful strike despite the clause in 2016 but more work needs to be done to change the South Africa labour law. The conference called on all participating unions to challenge their governments to exclude energy workers in the definition of essential services in labour laws or amend them to cover the right of workers to strike in support of their demands for improved wages and conditions of employment.  

Particular attention was paid to Zimbabwe where there are continued job losses and economic difficulties for workers. Companies are closing down and workers go for months without salaries. When workers demonstrate to demand their wages from either the government or company, they are arrested by public order police. However, workers in Zimbabwe continue to organize members and fight for the improvement of working conditions and for workers to be paid.

The conference received a progress report on the draft research paper on policy framework for Southern Africa as commissioned by SAEN. The research document is in circulation for member unions to study and make comments for further input. This document is intended to help SAEN members engage with energy authorities and employers on energy policy to lobby for change.

In addition, the SAEN secretariat will organize capacity building workshops for the participating unions in 2016 in order to create a more effective network.

“It is important to develop and strengthen the network so that it is effective all year round. The energy sector in the region faces a great many challenges and the more we work together, the better we can overcome them,” said Junquera Curiel.

As part of the solidarity actions of the network, the conference agreed that organizing work must continue in Angola and assist in the capacity building of Angolan energy union, FSIMEQ, for its sustainability. Organizing work will be continued in DRC and Zambia.

In conclusion, the conference maintained its previous office bearers with the exception of the election of Joseph Kamuendo of ESCOM Malawi as the Chairperson of the network. Ndlela Radebe, Secretary of NUM in South Africa is the Secretary, Bohithetswe Lentswe of Botswana Power Corporation Workers Union is the deputy secretary, Martin Chikuni of Zimbabwe Energy Workers Union, is the committee member, Jonathan Peles of TUICO Tanzania is the deputy chairperson.

East African unions receive awards for organizing

Under the theme “building stronger IndustriALL affiliated trade unions in East Africa for economic and social justice”, a two-day workshop was held in Uganda in October.

The 22 participants discussed organizing strategies, best practice, achievements and challenges, aiming at unity and cooperation at the national and international level. A strategy paper, looking at introducing revised national legislation to counter the use of short-term employment contracts in Uganda and Kenya, was presented.

Discussions also touched upon the various occupational safety and health (OSH) policies used by unions when organizing new members, the key factors affecting organizing efforts, and practical solutions to overcoming organizing challenges.

A national organizing strategy booklet for IndustriALL affiliates in East Africa was introduced. The strategy aims to build union power and increase workers’ participation in union activities and programmes:

One of the strategic tools is the award for organizing new members into the union. Three unions were recognized for their outstanding performance in 2015

  1. Textile Tailors Working Union, Nigera, for having increased membership by 143 per cent
  2. Kenya Shoe and Leathers Workers Union, for a 20 per cent membership increase
  3. Amalgamated Union of Kenya Metal Workers having increased membership by 4.25 per cent

COP22 Marrakesh Blog – Day 1 Monday 7 November 2016

COP21 in Paris produced the Paris Agreement, a landmark treaty to control greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming to 2 Celsius degrees (1.5 if feasible). The Paris Agreement came into legal force on 4 November, with over 100 nations having formally ratified it. COP22 is therefore about negotiating the implementation details of the Agreement. There is a sense that some governments have been taken by surprise with the speed at which the Paris Agreement has come into force.
 
There is room for optimism, with some countries undertaking massive projects in renewable energy. Yet 2016 will very likely be the warmest year, globally, on record and greenhouse gas emissions remain on a trend that, unless changed rapidly, will deliver global warming in the 3 to 4 Celsius degrees range, rather than a safer and agreed to 1.5 to 2.0 range. Reaching these targets will require a massive scale of investments and implementation of new technologies that is unprecedented, yet the $100B climate fund remains only partially realized.
 
Thus far, only a few nations have entered into a serious discussion of Just Transition measures.
 
Over the next two weeks, trade unions will coordinate our presence at the various negotiating meetings and side events to both make our views known and to track progress.
 
Stay tuned.

Get ready – global day of action at LafargeHolcim

Since Lafarge and Holcim merged last year, dozens of workers have died, precarious work has increased, the company has recklessly restructured and management has broken promises to reach a global agreement for a positive relationship with unions.

Unions from around the world at LafargeHolcim meeting in October in France demanded that management change its approach. They decided to organize a global day of action around the time of Human Rights Day to send the message that workers’ rights are human rights and LafargeHolcim must respect them.

On 9 December, unions at LafargeHolcim worksites around the world will organize demonstrations, hold membership meetings, contact the press, and distribute flyers. 

The more unions that participate in this global day of action, the more pressure is put on LafargeHolcim to respect workers’ rights. All participation is vital, so let’s get ready,

says Matthias Hartwich, IndustriALL director for materials industries.

Hundreds gather for anniversary of mine catastrophe in Brazil

The event was organized by the Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB), a social movement that defends people affected by dams.

Addressing the crowd, IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:

“We bring a message of solidarity from the global family of mineworkers to all those affected. This was no accident; it was a premeditated crime. We are deeply saddened at the devastation and loss of life. But we are also angry, angry that companies continue to put profits before people.”

The Fundão dam belonged to Samarco Mineração SA, a joint venture between two of the world’s biggest mining companies, Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd. and Brazil’s Vale SA.

Samarco, one of the world’s largest exporters of iron ore pellets, started building Fundão in 2007. Although there had been serious problems with the dam since the beginning, it did not stop Samarco from ramping up production in order to offset falling commodity prices.

The collapse on 5 November 2015 unleashed a meters-high tsunami of toxic sludge swamping the river and obliterating towns along its stretch as the wave of mud travelled 700 kilometers down the river to the Atlantic Ocean.

Most of those killed were mineworkers working on the dam at the time it collapsed. Had the dam collapsed during the night, the 600 residents of Bento Rodrigues would almost certainly all have died. As it was, in the absence of a proper emergency system as required by law, they escaped with only the clothes on their backs.

“I was born and raised in Bento Rodriguez,” says Antonio Martíns Quintão. “But all of that was swept away in the space of eight seconds just after 3:30 in the afternoon of 5 November.”

Antonio and other residents left homeless have yet to receive compensation.

“Every day when I wake up, the first thing I do is look to see whether any action has been taken against those responsible for my husband’s death,” says Alinne Ferreira Ribeiro.  Her husband Samuel, an operator employed by a Samarco contractor, was one of the 19 people who died that day.

In June, Brazilian federal prosecutors filed homicide charges against current and former executives of Samarco, BHP and Vale.  S.A. and their joint venture Samarco. Prosecutors say the company had prior knowledge of the risks to the structure and that stability reports were falsified.

Earlier, Brazilian prosecutors filed a US$44 billion civil suit against the three companies for the enormous human and environmental damages caused by the dam rupture.

Says IndustriALL General Secretary Valter Sanches:

“IndustriALL stands shoulder to shoulder with all those affected: with the families of those who died, the residents who lost everything, the 20,000 or so workers who don’t know if the mine will ever reopen, the communities that depended on the mine, and all those who have lost their livelihoods.

“We support the struggle to hold those responsible to account and to ensure that action is taken to ensure something like this never happens again.”

Prior to the event, the IndustriALL delegation held the first meeting of the global network of BHP Billiton and its spin-off company, South32. A detailed plan of action includes measures to address the companies’ unacceptable labour practices around the world and to hold BHP accountable for the Samarco disaster. The meeting adopted a declaration of support to the Samarco victims.

Thousands expected at steel rally in Brussels

The industriAll Europe-led protest, which starts at 11am at the Parc de Cinquantenaire, will bring steel workers from across Europe to march through the very heart of the European Union quarter of the Belgian capital. 

The workers want to pressure the European Union into protecting the steel industry within its borders. Prior to the outbreak of the financial crisis, the steel industry employed over 400,000 workers in Europe. Over the past five years, this figure has plummeted to 330,000, with further job losses looming on the horizon.

Marching under the banner of ‘No Europe without steel’ – trade unions, which also include IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, will be demanding an end to the dumping of under-priced Chinese steel on the European market. They also want the European Union to implement policy initiatives laid out in the European Steel Action Plan to save the steel industry from being wiped out in the continent.

Strategies to beat the global steel crisis will be of key debate at the IndustriALL base metals conference on 21-23 November to be held in Duisburg, Germany.

Follow the march on twitter with hashtag #EUActionDay_Steel. 

Find out more about the industriAll Europe rally here. 

Iraq: unions demand legal rights over ratification of ILO C87

On 25 October this year, the government of Iraq approved ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association, referring it to parliament for ratification. This comes after the adoption of an important new labour law last year.
 
This provides a promising environment for parliament to discuss an improved trade union law in the near future. Representatives of the IndustriALL Global Union Iraqi national council have drafted a trade union law that recognizes union pluralism and representative, democratic and free unions. The draft law was submitted to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in early October.
 
IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said that full recognition of union freedom of association is an integral part of a successful transition towards a stable and more democratic Iraq:

“Despite all the difficulties unions face, our work will always supplement the efforts of the brave Iraqi veterans for a trade union law compatible with the international standards.” 

The IndustriALL Iraqi national council met in Amman, Jordan, on 30 August to develop its programme, in light of the challenges for workers and their organizations in the country. The meeting concluded with an action plan that prioritizes building the strength of the affiliates, continuing the campaign for the adoption of a new trade union law, and raising awareness of the labour law adopted last year.
 
Hassan Juma, president of the Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions, said:

“There are tremendous political, economic and security problems in Iraq. Our brothers of the Iraqi army are now at the front to free Mosul from the hands of ISIS.
 
“We are taking our positions too, and are working closely with union leaders for a fairer and free Iraq – we are on the right track.”

As part of the ongoing campaign, IndustriALL organized a series of workshops in Basra, Baghdad and Erbil in September and October. All of them saw a large participation of youth and women, as well as local union leaders.
 
The workshops addressed the new labour law and how unions and workers can make best use of it, as well as collective bargaining, wages, and protecting working women.
 
Hashmeya Alsaadawi, president of the General Union of Electricity Workers and Technicians in Basra and co-chair of the IndustriALL MENA region says:

“Our dream of enacting a modern trade union law can be achieved by joining forces and expanding workers’ participation and awareness, including both women and youth.
 
“Recent activities involving and reaching workers and unionists reflect the serious engagement of the leaders and is the foundation for achieving our goal.”

Pakistan: Workers strike as shipyard death toll rises

A fire is raging aboard an oil tanker in the shipbreaking yard of Gadani, Pakistan, with up to 150 workers trapped inside. A gas container exploded inside the oil tanker on Tuesday, and firefighters are battling to control the blaze.

Our affiliates report that efforts to rescue the trapped workers have been in vain, and firefighters lack the foam needed to tackle chemical fires. 70 workers are in hospital, 15 in critical condition with severe burns.

The National Trade Union Federation of Pakistan (NTUF) has called a three day strike and period of mourning at the shipyards, which employ about 9,000 workers.

NTUF intends to file murder charges against the ship owners and contractor, and to file a constitutional petition in the higher court against the responsible government departments, including labour, social security and the environment.

The oil tanker was built in 1982 in Japan, and arrived at plot no. 54 at the Gadani yard on 15 October, with 250 workers enlisted to dismantle it. The ship had Indonesian owners before being sold to the Gadani shipbreaking company Ghafoor, but changed its registration to Djibouti weeks before arrival. The name of the ship was changed at this point from Federal 1 to Aces.

The blast occurred due to the presence of inflammable and toxic gases inside the fuel tank of the ship. Workers were forced to start the dismantling process before the fuel tank could be cleaned of leftover fuel.

The breaking of a ship is done with a gas wielding process, which led to this disaster. The explosion was so intense that heavy metal sheets were seen flying into the air, and later found up to two kilometers away.

Nasir Mansoor of NTUF said:

“Accidents like this have become routine. Gadani is not only a graveyard of ships but also of labourers.

“The responsibility of these deaths lies on the shoulders of the ship breakers. The authorities, including police and the labour department, have colluded with the yard owners to let them get away with these murders.

“The mighty ship breakers rule and workers are treated as if they were not even human.

The NTUF has campaigned for the rights of shipbreaking workers for a decade, most recently on October 30, when workers demanded their right to occupational health and safety.

In the wake of this latest disaster, the NTUF is demanding a dramatic change in safety measures in the yards, as well as compensation for the injured and the families of the dead workers.

The deputy commissioner of the Lasbela district has ordered that all work at Gadani stop. Police have arrested the contractor, and ordered the arrest of the ship owner and the chairman of the shipbreakers’ association.

IndustriALL Global Union has written to the prime minister of Pakistan, Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, to urge the country to ratify the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.

IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches said:

“Consistent negligence of safety measures and a disregard for the rule of law by employers and authorities has made Gadani a killing field.

"It is not acceptable that the shipbreaking workers in Pakistan have to risk their life every day to earn a livelihood."

Gadani is the world's third largest shipbreaking yard, made up of 132 plots located a 10 km long beachfront at Gadani, Pakistan, about 50 kilometres northwest of Karachi.

Anniversary of tragic dam disaster in Brazil

5 November marks the anniversary of one of the worst mining tragedies in Brazil, when a dam at the mine in Mariana burst, claiming 19 lives, displacing hundreds of people and causing an environmental disaster as the toxic waste killed flora and fauna.

A year after the disaster, the region has still not recovered and miles of the Doce river, providing both drinking water and livelihood for fishermen, are polluted.

In October, federal prosecutors in Brazil filed charges of homicide against 21 people saying "security was always of secondary importance", and that officials had ignored signs that the dam was unsafe before the collapse. The companies also face charges for environmental crimes. 

“It has been a very long year for the communities affected,” says IndustriALL Global Union general secretary Valter Sanches. “As unions, we must continue to fight back against corporate greed and to ensure that BHP Billiton and Vale are held accountable for the tragedy in Mariana.”

To highlight the anniversary and to continue the discussions on what caused the disaster and the continued challenges, unions and civil society organizations are coming together for a march.

The march, expected to attract hundreds of participants, is departing on 31 October from the coast and going along the contaminated Doce river to arrive in Mariana on 5 November. President Lula da Silva will be present to mark the first anniversary of the tragic events.

IndustriALL affiliates in the BHP Billiton/South 32 global union network will join the massive solidarity manifestation on 5 November, concluding two days of meetings.

The Samarco Mineração S.A mine in Mariana, Brazil, is owned by mining giants Vale and BHP Billiton.

Bangladesh: promoting social dialogue to ensure shipbreaking workers’ safety and rights

IndustriALL Global Union and the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) jointly organized a round table on “Promoting Social Dialogue For Ensuring Workers’ Safety and Rights in Ship Breaking: Role of Stakeholders” on 27th October 2016 in Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Government officials responsible for workplace safety and the implementation of labour regulations, shipbreaking workers, representatives of trade unions, the employers’ association, NGOs and the Dutch union federation FNV participated in the event.

The round table saw intense discussion on the issues of occupational safety and health scenarios in Chittagong shipbreaking yards, challenges to ensuring safe working conditions, policy initiatives and role of stakeholders in the shipbreaking industry.

Syed Ahmed, inspector general of the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) said that the government of Bangladesh is committed to ensuring workplace safety, not only in shipbreaking but also in other vulnerable sectors.

The government of Bangladesh is working with the International Maritime Organization towards meeting the requirements of the Hong Kong International Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. The Convention is the agreed international standard for the industry.

Ahmed said that inspections per week in shipyards have been increased, and DIFE is working to minimize accidental injury and death at the workplace. Government bodies alone are not capable of ensuring workers’ rights and safety. Employers, trade unions and NGOs need to work collectively, along with government, to ensure safe working conditions.

Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriALL South Asia regional secretary, urged government authorities and employers to support workers’ initiatives and expressed the hope that by working together, the parties could bring changes to ensure respect for trade union rights, implementation of labour laws and workplace safety in the shipbreaking industry.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahamed, BILS executive director, said that shipbreaking is one of the major industries in Bangladesh and the government should ensure that the industry adheres to international conventions, existing labour laws and high court directives of the country to protect workers rights and to provide safe working conditions.

Master Abul Kashem and Md. Siddique, representatives of Bangladesh Shipbreakers’ Association (BSBA) gave assurances that they are trying their best to facilitate workers in cases related to wages, accidental injury, accommodation and other related matters. They hoped that a joint effort would reduce the accidents and make the workplace safer.

The round table issued the following recommendations towards protecting workers rights and to ensure safe working conditions: